Cole and Elijah had 50 croissants altogether. After Cole ate ¹₅ of his croissants and Elijah ate 8 croissants, the number of croissants Elijah had left was four times the number of croissants Cole had left. How many more croissants did Elijah have than Cole at first?

	Cole	Elijah	Total
Before	5 u	16 u + 8	50
Change	- 1 u	- 8
After	4 u
Comparing Cole and Elijah in the end	1x4 = 4 u	4x4 = 16 u

The number of croissants that Cole had in the end is the same. Make the number of croissants that Cole had in the end the same.  LCM of 4 and 1 is 4.

Total number of croissants at first
= 5 u + 16 u + 8
= 21 u + 8

21 u + 8 = 50
21 u = 50 - 8
21 u = 42 

1 u = 42 ÷ 21 = 2

Number of croissants that Cole had at first
= 5 u
= 5 x 2
= 10

Number of croissants that Elijah had at first
= 50 - 10
= 40

Number of croissants that Elijah had more than Cole at first
= 40 - 10
= 30

Answer(s): 30